Gloria stood by her sister, numb as she gazed at the casket of Tom Harris.
The service for Mr. Harris had been a blur, now standing by the gravesite she could see practically everyone she knew as he was buried with full military honors.
The Harris children stood with their mother, Marjorie Harris, who sat by her husbands coffin inconsolable. Julie and Cole stood by her side, Cole dressed in uniform for his father's funeral. Cole was stone faced as he and his older sister tried to keep the family together. Gloria though was now worried about Kumiko.
Since the attack Kumiko had been in the hospital. A skull fracture had left the woman in a coma for a week. While the doctors expected a complete recovery ot did mean she would be spending the remainder of her pregnancy in the hospital.
Gloria now looked over at Derrick and Claudia Harris. The two younger siblings were visibly shaken, Derrick was stone faced, his girlfriend Morgan on his arm trying to console him. Claudia though looked as if a part of her soul had been torn from her body. Tears were noticeably running down her cheeks, yet she did not make a sound. Mika tried to console her fiance yet she remained almost catatonic, simply staring at her father's casket.
As the service completed Gloria excused herself from her parents as she went to join her sister and her friends. Despite her sisters insistence, she felt responsible for Tom Harris's death. If only she and her friends had been stronger, maybe just maybe he would still be here. All she wanted to do now was apologize to the Harris family.
"Gloria," Mary Elise whispered, grabbing the teen by the arm. "I need you and Yuriko to meet me at Katie's house now." Gloria nodded, unsure what Mary Elsie wanted.
The trip to Katies was uneventful as she and her sister pulled into the driveway. Entering Katies, Gloria could see Ashley, Mary Elise, and Samantha waiting for them. "Glad you could come Gloria," Mary smiled. "Unfortunately we couldn't all get together. After what happened, everyone else was busy."
"Its fine," Gloria sighed. "I..I'm sorry I couldn't save Mr. Harris. It's my fault he died."
"Hey," Katie said softly, hugging her sister. "Listen this isnt your fault. None of us were able to stop these things when we were attacked. You did the best you could."
Gloria simply cried, despite the comforting words it did little to help. True none of them had much success against Villars forces yet it was Gloria who had witnessed death. "Well have a chance to mourn later," Mary Elise stated. "Right now I need Yuriko and your help."
"Me," Yuriko asked. "Why me?"
Mary Elise now gestured towards the back room, calling for the two guests that were waiting for them. Yurikonwatched curiously as two anthros now exited the room. "Hiya cuz," Haley smiled. "Wish we were meeting under better circumstances."
Yuriko gave the two a confused look as they now approached, giving the teen a tight hug. "We're sorry about grandpa," Aaron said softly. "We tried to help but, we were too late. I'm sorry."
"Who are you," Yuriko asked. "And what do you know about my granddad."
"That's what I needed to ask you," Mary Elise said. "You see this is Aaron and Haley Harris. Mika and Claudia's twins."
"Twins," Gloria and Yuriko exclaimed.
"The other Mika and Claudia," Haley said. "You know the other timeline version."
"But they never had children,: Yuriko gaped. "At least not when I left!"
"The future changed up a bit," Aaron smirked.
"Yeah big bad kinda threw a monkey wrench into the works," Haley added. "No one expected Liliths gift to work out like it did."
Yuriko sat in stunned silence gaping at the anthro teens in front of her. "So your telling me we've grown up together?"
"Well yeah," Haley stated. "But we usually dont look like this." Looking over at her brother she nodded as the two began to focus.
Yuriko watched as the twos anthro features began to soften. Haley and Aaron's fur began to recede as their muzzled flattened. Yurikonwatched as the two anthros shrank slightly as they became more human. As the spell completed Yuriko beheld two half Asian teens.
Aaron was a fit teen, a little taller than his twin sister. Dark brown hair and almond shaped brown eyes sat upon a teens smooth face. A face that was far sterner than it should be. Haley was now a skinny teenage girl, who looked like a mix between Claudia and Mika. Like her brother she had almond shaped eyes and dark hair. Unlike her brother though Haley sported two brightly colored pigtails while two small b cups were squeezed into a neon tube top.
"We usually look like this when we visit or hanging around with Kari," Aaron said.
"Speaking if which where is our big sis, Haley asked.
"Probably with this timelines Mika and Claudia," Gloria stated. "So are you guys kitsune?"
"Kitaro," Mary Elise Elise stated, drawing a confused look from Yuriko and Gloria. "Tiger demons and Yeah I had the same look on my face."
"So what happens now," Yuriko asked.
"Well," Aaron smirked. "We came back to help. Trust us your going to need it. Now you ready to go meet up with the others so we can come up with a plan."
The others gazed at one another still unsure of what to make of the twins before nodding. With the help of Aaron and Haley maybe they stood a chance of stopping Villar.